October is Manufacturing Month

October is Manufacturing Month, and Moraine Park is wasting no time in celebrating this industry that is especially important to our local and State economies. On October 5, Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Reggie Newson visited the Fond du Lac campus in conjunction with National Manufacturing Day. During his visit, Newson spoke with Moraine Park students, instructors and leaders on how the collaboration between workforce development and Wisconsin’s technical colleges is integral to supporting manufacturing employers.   

To further recognize Manufacturing Month and better serve our students, six manufacturing companies are providing tours to MPTC staff throughout October.  Staff can choose to visit one of these companies: Signicast in Hartford; Apache Stainless Equipment in Beaver Dam; Gruber Tool and Die, Inc. in West Bend; or J.F. Ahern Company, Mercury Marine and Mid-States Aluminum in Fond du Lac. From the tours, staff will gain knowledge and awareness of careers in manufacturing and a better understanding of its importance to our District. 

In partnership with the Fond du Lac Association of Commerce, Moraine Park will be providing manufacturing awareness tours of our facilities to high school students in Fond du Lac County on October 23 and 24. Working with West Bend High Schools, Moraine Park has coordinated visits to West Bend area manufacturing companies on October 16. These tours will help our high school students gain a better understanding of what a career in manufacturing looks like.  

The average wage in manufacturing is approximately 20 percent higher than the state’s average weekly wage, and by participating in these manufacturing events throughout October, we hope to further promote the many opportunities a manufacturing career can provide. Are you currently enrolled in a manufacturing program or are you thinking about a career in manufacturing? I welcome your thoughts on manufacturing as a career pathway!

Taking the adversity out of diversity

In collaboration with the Higher Education Diversity Initiative Team (HEDIT), Moraine Park recently hosted an important workshop led by national speaker, Dr. Maura Cullen. Fond du Lac County’s four institutions of higher education (Moraine Park, Marian University, Ripon College, and UW-Fond du Lac) invited students, staff and faculty members to attend the annual event.

The theme of this year’s project was “Bridging the Gap: Skills to Increase Your Diversity Competence.” It was an honor having Dr. Cullen on campus to get participants laughing and thinking about diversity and inclusion. Dr. Cullen took the ‘adversity out of diversity’ by covering skills that are necessary for the 21^st century workplace. I think those who attended left with a new outlook on how to build bridges between people by understanding cultural differences.

HEDIT organizes an event each year that leads, inspires, educates and challenges Fond du Lac County students and our community to celebrate diversity. This workshop was HEDIT’s fourth annual event. Did you attend the diversity event with Dr. Cullen? What were some of the skills you left the workshop with that you didn’t know before? Please share – I’m already looking forward to finding out what the HEDIT team has in store for us next year.